Wausau ahead in lead service line replacement

Wausau is outpacing other municipalities in replacing lead water service lines, just two years into a five-year plan to replace all privately-owned lead water pipes in the city.

In a presentation to the City Council on Tuesday, Sean Agid with Community Infrastructure Partners said Wausau is setting an example nationwide. 

“In year one, we started construction in July 2024, we replaced 605 lines,” he said. “This year, we’ve replaced 1,534. So collectively, that’s over 2,100 lines to date.”

Agid said Wausau’s speedy replacement project has helped the city secure funding to continue replacing lead service lines and has encouraged owners to work with the city to get their service lines replaced. 

“We are maintaining a greater than 96% consent rate,” Agid said. “This is a voluntary program. There’s no mandate that property owners have to buy in, so it’s a very impressive metric nationwide. A lot of other programs are around 60 percent.”

Agid said the state Department of Natural Resources granted the city additional dollars to continue replacing lead service lines.

“Other communities throughout Wisconsin were underspending their funding awards, so they couldn’t replace as much lines as they had hoped. So there was an extra million dollars that DNR said, if Wausau has the capacity, feel free to take the money,” he said.

He also said they’re on track to maintain their rate of progress and will secure funding from the state to do so. 

“We have about 1,000 right-of-entry agreements secured for 2026, so we can get started as soon as weather allows,” he said.

Governor Tony Evers announced Wednesday nearly $160 million in statewide financial assistance aimed at helping municipalities speed up their lead pipe replacement work.

Wausau is set to receive over 16 million dollars in funding in 2026.

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